Snow-shoe harness.



0. c. TUTTLE.

SNOW SHOE HARNESS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-5.1M?-

Patented June 19, 1917. I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OBLEY C.TUTTLE, OF OLD FORGE, NEW YORK.

SNOW-SHOE HARNESS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 19, 1917.

Application filed March 6, 1917. Serial No. 152,537.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ORLEY C. Tur'inn, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Old Forge, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Snow-Shoe Harness, of which the-following is a specification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings. I i

This invention relates to improvements in snow-shoes and particularly to improvements in the harness portion thereof by.

means of which the snowshoe is held securely upon the foot; and an object of this invention is to provide a snowshoe-harness which will be simple in construction, comparatively cheap in manufacture, efficient, secure, protecting, convenient, durable and comfortable in operation and use and susceptible of being readily adjusted to and put on and taken off the foot of the wearer.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of this invention and the best mode now known to me of applying that principle, Figure 1 is a plan view of the snowshoe, the toe-piece being shown unfastened; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the snowshoe, the toe-piece being shown fastened; and Figs. 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 3-3 and 44 of Fig. 2, respectively, Fig. 4 being on an enlarged scale, and the snowshoe frame and stringing being omitted.

The snowshoe a comprises the wooden snowshoe-frame b, which is braced by the wooden crosspieces c, and the rawhide stringing cl that forms the bottom or floor of the snowshoe a. There is secured, to the stringing (Z, as by the lacing a piece of leather that serves as a toe-piece f the side-faces or checks f, f", of which are fastened together, above the shoe-top g, by a two-part metal clasp or fastener 72,. One part 72. of the latter is secured to the cheek f of the toe-piece f, while the other part it of the clasp h is fastened to the other cheek f of the toe-piece f. The clasp-member h is formed with a series of holes h adapted to receive the stud 72." formed with a recess 71. To the side-faces f, f, of the toe-piece f are fastened the parts j, 9', respectively, of the two-part heel-strap j. The front end of each part of the heel-strap y' is suitably engaged at j* with the stringing d, while the rear ends of the heel strap j are secured by buckling them together, as is shown at 71:. After the heel-strap j has been adjusted to the. size of thewearers foot, it is not necessary, in the ordinary wearing of the harness, to unbuckle the heel-strap j, but the same maybe keptin the form of a loop, as shown in the drawings.

The snowshoe a. is put. on the foot in the following manner: Place the foot in the harness, pulling-the heel-strap j well up over the heel; draw the, foot'back, lifting the heel up; then fasten the clasp members 72/, h", together by inserting the stud h in that one of'the holes h that effects a close or snug fit of the toe-piece j, over the forepart of the shoe or moccasin g; and, lastly, lower the heel upon the snowshoe a. The clasp-member it will engage thewalls of the recess i formed in the stud h and the clasp 7:. will be securely locked or fastened (Fig. 4). It will be found that the harness fits so closely around the shoe or moccasin 9 that the same can be worn several seasons without wearing out and that no snow or ice can collect under the ball of the foot. The toe-piece f protects and preserves from wear that part of the stringing (Z that lies under the ball of the foot; and it is to be borne in mind that the stringing under the ball of the foot is the vital part of the snowshoe and it is only by saving this stringing from wear that the life of the snowshoe may be lengthened to any extent. The toe-piece f covers about six inches of the stringing d, measuring from front to rear (or lengthwise) of the snowshoe; but, of course, the dimensions of the toe-piece f may be made of such size that it covers more or less than six inches. When the clasp h is fastened and the toe-piece f is in position fitting snugly over the shoe or moccasin, the heel-strap j and the toe-piece f co-act in such a manner that their combined action, together with the pressure of the foot, prevents the clasp h from becoming unfastened. There is, however, no undue pressure upon the foot and the wearers feet do not, therefore, get cold, as is the case, when the circulation of the blood is retarded. By lifting the heel and drawing the foot back slightly, the clasp it can be unfastened without having to remove the gloves or mittens from the hands. The harness is so easily adjusted that it can be arranged by any woman or even a young miss and is so sightly that it adds appreciably to the looks or appearance of her snowshoes. Moreover, the harness tends by its use to preserve her overshoes. The harness can be fitted to all snowshoes and skees Without the use of rivets.

I claim:

1. A snowshoe-harness including snowshoe-stringing; a flexible toepiece fastened thereto and shaped to fit around the fore part of the foot and protect the stringing under the ball of the foot; a clasp for detachably fastening said toe-piece over the foot; and a heel-strap fastened to said toepiece and arranged to pass around the heel part of the foot.

2. A snowshoe-harness including snowshoe-stringing; a flexible toe-piece fastened thereto and shaped to fit around the forepart of the foot and protect the stringing under the ball of the foot; a two-part clasp one part of which is fastened to one side of said toe-piece and formed with holes and the other part of Which is fastened to the opposite side of said toe-piece and is formed with a stud adapted to engage in said holes in succession and having a recess With the Walls of which the first-named part engages in locking position; and a heel-strap fastened to said toe-piece and stringing and arranged to pass around the heel part of the foot.

Signed at Rome in the county of Oneida and State of New York, this 27th day of February, A. D., 1917, in the presence of the two undersigned Witnesses.

ORLEY C. TUTTLE.

Witnesses A. J. OCoNNoR, M. L. MURPHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

